harbor freight winch

[danman78]

At first Harbor Freight seems like a very good place to get cheap inexpensive tools that you don't mind if they last- I was there is a and I noticed a pretty large selection of bumper winches I'm wondering if anyone has been brave enough to buy 1 try it out

 

[86tuning]

Do a quick search on "badlands" and see what comes up. IMO recovery tools are not a good place to save a few bucks. Ditto tires and brake pads.

I'd rather find a good used warn m8000 and refurbish it with a synthetic rope and bolt that on instead.

2 cents.

 

[arndog123]

https://forum.ih8mud.com/winching-recovery/516009-harbor-freight-winches.html

 

[SUMMIT CRUISERS]

We have the 12k HF winch. Used it a couple of times testing it (nothing major). All works as it should. Not continuous duty. As I recall 45 seconds is about it and then you need to let it rest/cool for 5 minutes or so. The wireless remote control for it is awesome and is well worth the 24.99 we paid for it. Maybe someone else will chime in on about using it.
See Arndog's post above. 13 pages, that should tell you enough.

 

[floridan surfer]

I have one. Several here do and have been happy with them. Wait for a sidewalk sale and get one for $300.

Heck, I've been pretty happy with about everything I've ever got from them.
Pat

 

[Living in the Past]

As I recall 45 seconds is about it and then you need to let it rest/cool for 5 minutes or so.

This is true of most if not all electric winches. The motors are not much more than a starter motor. If you want one that you can use for continuous duty your going to be paying really big bucks then plan upgrading your charging system including adding a battery or two. If you doing a bunch of long pulls a PTO is a better route.

 

[2000UZJ]

I have seen these as well and wanted to snatch one. I'm assuming they aren't waterproof? If so, can you waterproof it? I've been wheeling the 100 pretty hard for the past 5 years, never really "needed" one. It would be a nice piece of insurance though. I generally wheel with groups, however I'm getting tired of being the dude that says "can I borrow a winch pull?"

 

[Jetboy]

I have one on my 4runner and a Warn 8274 on my landcruiser. Different uses, but both have been reliable and great tools to have. The HF is much cheaper, much slower, and probably doesn't pull nearly as hard as the Warn, but for the price I can't complain. So far it has worked very well. I've used it quite a few times, but mostly for short pulls on my stock 4runner, and I use it to lift and lower a snowplow. Works great for that.

The biggest downsides I've seen so far for the HF winch is being slow compared to the warn, and it has a relatively small spool for cable compared to the big spool on the 8274. Also the HF winch uses a cheap low quality cable. I've broken mine once already, roughly 18" from the original hook loop. I just cut off the bad part and put a new end on it. The break was the result of using for snow plow lifting, so one spot on the cable is repeatedly flexed. I suspect a good quality cable would have lasted a long time in the same application.

 

[duggy]

Read the huge thread already in this forum. I have used mine extensively and it has not given me issues. I bought synthetic line for it and will be testing that on the next wheeling trip. Buy the two year warranty and have some peace of mind.

 

[ZombieResponseUnit]

I built a boom type crane (named: Business Time) that fitted on the back of a CUCV and used a HF winch. It seemed to work fine moving logs, turning/loading the saw mill and some skidding logs, although we had a tractor winch and a team of horses for that. It however did not last long after a co-worker used it as a tow strap and yanked and yanked on a log driving the truck, not winding the winch. Always a big no no. I probably should have wrote an user manual and I'd say always get the extended warranty.

 

[shelfboy1]

i bought a skid of 24 10,000 lb hf winches at an auction for 110.00 bucks for the whole skid .they were warranty returns and some were never used. but they work well when not abused plus i have all the parts i will ever need.it sucks because i go out of my way not to buy anything from china but i couldnt pass this up.i prefer pto winches and use those for the really heavy stuff.